NATO Allies Partner Up for High-End Anti-Submarine Warfare Exercise

NATO partners are teaming up for a high-end anti-submarine warfare exercise that will test the ability of surface ships and ASW aircraft to find attack boats in deep water.

Dynamic Mongoose 2018 kicked off last week off the coast of Norway and includes forces from Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Turkey and the U.S.“The aim of this exercise is to provide all participants with complex and challenging warfare training to enhance their interoperability and proficiency in anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare skills,” according to a news release from NATO Allied Maritime Command.

The exercise includes seven surface combatants, three ASW aircraft and two submarines. The U.S. contribution is a P-8A Poseidon ASW aircraft, a U.S. 6th Fleet spokesperson told USNI News on Tuesday.

While NATO gave a thin outline of this year’s exercise, previous descriptions of the Dynamic Mongoose series give hints to the nature of the drills.

“During the exercise, submarines will have to transit from one point to another, while surface vessels try to track them down and simulate an attack,” reads a description of the exercise from 2016. “Surface units will also have to transit between two points while under submarine threat.”

A P-8A Poseidon aircraft assigned to Patrol Squadron (VP) 45 is parked on the flight line of Naval Air Station Keflavik, Iceland in 2016. US Navy Photo

About Sam LaGrone

Sam LaGrone is the editor of USNI News. He has covered legislation, acquisition and operations for the Sea Services since 2009 and spent time underway with the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and the Canadian Navy.